Zero-carbon solar water heating - the way forward

摘要

Solar water heating is a renewable energy technology that heats water, usually for washing and bathing, using the sun's heat and light energy. Barry Johnston, managing director of Solar Twin Ltd discusses the options available to plumbing and heating engineers. Even simple solar water heating systems have several components. A solar panel (collector) in the sun heats up water or antifreeze. When this is hotter than what is already stored, it is pumped to a store. Electricity powers the pump. Cleverly switching this pump on and off at the right times is an electronic solar controller. It compares the temperatures of two or three temperature sensors strategically attached to various parts of the system.